Dashcam shows man pursuing officer, the mother of his kids, on I-75

Dashcam video shows Roberto Zaldivar, 24, pursuing a Miramar police officer in a chase on I-75. The officer, Ashley Abreu, is the mother of his children. Zaldivar was arrested and is facing charges of domestic battery by strangulation and burglary with assault or battery.

Dashcam video shows Roberto Zaldivar, 24, pursuing a Miramar police officer in a chase on I-75. The officer, Ashley Abreu, is the mother of his children. Zaldivar was arrested and is facing charges of domestic battery by strangulation and burglary with assault or battery.

A Miramar police officer trying to evade her live-in partner as he pursued her in a car chase on Interstate 75 was recorded on another driver’s dashcam, authorities said.

Miramar Police Officer Ashley Abreu told the Florida Highway Patrol that she and Roberto Zaldivar, 24, the father of her children, had an argument that turned violent, an incident report said.

While she was driving to work, Abreu, 21, could see Zaldivar following her and as she tried to get away from him, he pulled in front and slammed on his brakes to try and get her to stop, the report said.

Miami-Dade Corrections, courtesy

Roberto Zaldivar

Roberto Zaldivar (Miami-Dade Corrections, courtesy)

The footage showed a gold Nissan Altima chasing and cutting off the police patrol car and sideswiping it Saturday afternoon in Miami-Dade and Broward counties before it sped away.

The video showed smoke rising from the Nissan’s rear tires and the car hitting the patrol car’s left front fender, leaving minor damage.

“Our officer is a victim,” Miramar Police spokeswoman Tania Rues said Monday. “Unfortunately, domestic violence is prevalent in every community. ... Police officers are not immune to being victims of domestic abuse.”

Abreu was not injured and reported the incident when she arrived at work for her shift, Rues said.

Hialeah police arrested Zaldivar and he was booked before dawn Monday into Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center in Miami.

The jail’s website says Zaldivar is facing charges of domestic battery by strangulation and burglary with assault or battery. He is being represented by the Miami-Dade Public Defender’s Office, which declined to comment on an open case.

After investigating the incident on the interstate, the Florida Highway Patrol will present its findings to the Broward state attorney’s office. Zaldivar could face charges of aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer for that case, the incident report said.

His grandmother gave him the dashcam as a gift. “I have witnessed other crazy drivers, whether it’s folks coming by me on a crotch rocket at 100 mph at 6:30 in the morning or seeing two guys in a road-rage incident who got off the Palmetto [Expressway] and were just duking it out at the side of the road,” Conley said.

“We said, ‘Well, we guess this is how folks do it in South Florida,’” Conley said. “My sister wants me to start a video blog or post them on YouTube.”

Seeing the Nissan sideswipe the police car startled Conley enough to prompt a call to 911, he said.

“It was a culmination of all my crazy driving experiences here,” Conley said. “Everyone needs to have a dashcam if they’re driving in South Florida.”